Tokyo Twins Chapter 20 - Meet up and meet downs.

an online serialized story

by Tommy Schmitz

Chapter 20 - Meet ups and meet downs.


Kenji slipped out the window

and now and elsewhere upon the earth --

three and one half hours behind on Kenji's watch --

the boy named Jack O'Brien

was negotiating with his ambassadorial captors.

"Look guys, I haven't had a bowel movement in five days.

and I'm gonna need some privacy to make it happen,

and it's a good idea for it to happen now;

so do you mind...

I'm just gonna walk behind that brush over there,

and alone, please?"

His captors were holding Jack

on a hilly and scratchy-dry patch of land

about 200 meters from the checkpoint between India and Kashmir.

Jack was raising his eyebrows and smiling big and rapidly nodding his head.

The rifled soldiers surrounding Jack

looked up at the man in the sunglasses,

who nodded once his head in allowance.

And the captors, all five, watched Jack walk the 30 meters

and then behind the brush;

and they watched too an aging SUV

pop out of pure dust

and over a north ridge nearby

and make a lateral bee-line for Jack

and they heard the sounds of a car door that opened and closed,

and witnessed a semi-circle of dirt and dust clouds

spraying off all four wheels like some organic curtain.

And they looked then at one other with mouths agape

somehow knowing

that for the remainder of their lives,

they would never again

set eyes upon

the boy named Jack O'Brien.


* * * * * * *



"I like your timing." said Jack.

"Almost caught ya with your pants down, huh." said Lilu, Jack's friend from school

"You wish, Lilu."

"Nothing we ain't seen before, oh Jackie boy."

"Hey, Fariishta . Sooooo good to see you guys."

Jack was wiping with his shirt the sweat and dust off his face.

"Can't believe you're here." Jack said,

all eyes in shining, all voices cranked.

"It's our meet up, Jack."

"Yeah, we been watching ya."

"From where." Jack said.

"Just over ridge." said Lilu.

"Slipped the guys on the other side a bonus." Fariishta went on...

"Two hundred bucks."

"Made their day." said Lilu.

"Made mine too." said Jack. "So, what's on the agenda?"

"Ya mean besides you movin your bowels?" the girls laughed.

"Come on guys, give me a break." Jack said.

"Remember that group trying to recruit us --

over the net - several months ago?"

"That one from up around here? - secretive? - bunch a kids our age?"

"That's the one, Jackie boy." Fariishta said.

"and we thought they were just kiddin around?"

"they're not."

"how many of 'em are there?"

"thousands, my friend, thousands."

"What the hell is going on?" Jack said.

"they hooked up with some lady from the outside." Fariishta explained.

"...invited her up here."

"and she's now their leader." said Lilu.

"their leader. where's she from?"

"East Timor."

"Where the fuck is East Timor."

"You wouldn't remember, but Lilu actually did her 10th grade thesis

on East Timor." Fariishta said.

"You're right," said Jack, "I can't even remember my own 10th grade thesis."

Sure you wanna know, Jackie? said Fariishata/

"Lay it on me, Far-away-girl," Jack said,

using his pet nickname for his friend.

"Okay. Listen up."

"Wait a sec. What's the situation with my parents?"

"Um... they u-tubed a video in the wee hours."

"It went out over the news wires.

"Can I see it?"

"Ah. Yeah, but listen-up first." Lilu said.


* * * * * * *


Later that night, still Saturday, Kenji flipped open his cell phone

walking in the park near Shinjuku Station.

A woman tapped him from behind on the shoulder.

And Kenji turned and smiled.

"Who needs cell phones? Good evening, Yamato-san."

"We've been on the lookout for you, Sensei."

"I wish you wouldn't call me that." Kenji said.

"You seem like a teacher to us."

"Let's see if we can keep our relationship on the same level...

you know my name, Yamato-san." Kenji said.

"Follow-me, we're taking another path down under."

"Sounds right up my alley."

And she led him by the hand through darkness and to a covered man hole.

"Katie-Susan-chan. Come here, girls."

Katie and Susan O'Brien walked from their bedroom back into

the living room and wrapped their arms and legs

around their grandmother on the floor.

"Are you crying, Obá-chan?" said Susan.

"No." Obá-chan said, tears streaming down her cheeks faster than she can wipe them off.

"Why is all this happening, Obá-chan?

"Girls. Listen to me now.

Obá-chan may be taken away."

"Because of Satchitananda-san?"

"Yes." She paused and wiped her cheeks again.

"That's not fair." said Susan.

" Obá-chan ?" Katie said.

"What's going to happen to Mom and Dad?"

"Their message on the television cannot be serious, can it?" continued Katie.

"I don't... I hope not girls, but for now, just in case, I want you to promise me three things."

"We know, Obá-chan." Susan said.

"Okay. I trust you. You are good girls,

and you will do so well in your national trials meet on Wednesday."

"Somehow you know we will, Obá-chan." said Susan.

And Katie was nodding her head. "That's the one thing we can hang onto, Obá-chan."

"Besides you." said Susan.


* * * * * * *